Ellenville man sentenced to prison for vehicular manslaughter in death of wife

KINGSTON, N.Y. -- An Ellenville man who was driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol during a car crash that killed his wife and seriously injured his stepdaughter has been sentenced in Ulster County Court to one to three years in state prison, District Attorney Holley Carnright said Thursday.

Claude Moody, 53, could have been sentenced by County Judge Donald A. Williams on Wednesday to a maximum of 2 1/3 to 7 years in state prison on the felony vehicular manslaughter charge to which he pleaded guilty in October, but Carnright said his office recommended the sentence Williams ultimately imposed on Moody.

Carnright said "the conduct itself" must be punished by the legal system, but at the same time, prosecutors had to take into account that "there is an internal sentence he'll never get over."

"An awful lot of sadness came with this," said Carnright, also noting Moody did not have a prior criminal history.

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Authorities have said Moody was driving a 2002 Toyota Rav 4 on state U.S. Route 44/state Route 55 in the town of Rochester on Oct. 4, 2011, when the sports utility vehicle struck a backhoe from behind in a construction area near Jenny Lane.

Moody's wife, 54-year-old Demetra Barnes-Moody, was in the front passenger seat of the Toyota and suffered serious injuries to her head and other parts of her body, authorities have said.

She was flown to Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla, where she died from her injuries.

The Ulster County Sheriff's Office said at the time that Moody's blood-alcohol content was above 0.08 percent, the state's legal limit for drunken driving, and that he also had anti-depressant drugs in his system.

Moody and his stepdaughter were treated for their injuries at St. Francis Hospital in Poughkeepsie. The driver of the backhoe was not hurt, authorities said.

Carnright described the case as "terribly tragic." He said he hopes other people learn from it, do not drive under the influence, and make the roads safer for everyone.